Bruce's Journal

[Wehner Homestead]

I found a few pics on Google from years ago. The ones at the Historical Society are even neater. (Please ignore the reference pics under. These aren’t related and I don’t know why them came up!)

 

[CntryBoy777]

Some frogs and fish will bury themselves in mud and hibernate until the water temp rises, being cold blooded they go into a catatonic state. Even during the single digits here the ducks were eating and dusting in the snow....like chickens in dirt. We had to tote water to them 3 times a day, but would've been only 2 times if we didn't give feed at nite, but using hay and the deep litter method of bedding kept the inside water from freezing solid overnite. They do shake and sling water and even dip their head in the water and then let it drip from their bill outside the water tub....so, if ya had to keep the area dry and the wet area down, putting their water in a tote or box with an access hole cut in it would eliminate a lot of excess water in other areas....and have a short distance between their feed and water so they don't get to mixing the 2 in both containers.

 

[Wehner Homestead]

@CntryBoy777 If I get ducks you’ll be my go-to for what to do and what not to do!

 

[CntryBoy777]

Well, I'm not an expert, but will sure help ya as much as I can.....my favorite breed is the Khaki Campbells...they are hilarious and egg laying machines....

 

[Wehner Homestead]

I think they are pretty and have always stood out to me!

 

[Bruce]

A century ago it froze solid enough that they drove horses across it! (I thought I got a pic and I didn’t.)

Gee, you must be REALLLLLLY OLD!


Lake Champlain used to freeze all the way across almost every year in the 1800's and early 1900's. That started to change in the 1950's when it didn't close 5 years of the decade. 3 years in the 60's, 3 in the 70's, 5 in the 80's, 7 in the '90s, 5 in the 2000's and so far this decade it closed only in '14 and '15. To put it in perspective, between 1816 and 1949 there were only 6 years that it did not freeze over. Used to be a "highway" to northern New York state for some part of the year.

Our above ground pool freezes, no surprise. I ASSUME it freezes all the way down. Had rabbit tracks in the snow on it a couple of weeks ago. That rabbit must have been pretty desperate to find something to eat. It had to go up 6 steps, across ~5 of deck, through a closed picket gate, down two steps to get to the pool deck, then up and over the edge of the pool landing a foot or so down on the surface.

 

[Bruce]

Some frogs and fish will bury themselves in mud and hibernate until the water temp rises, being cold blooded they go into a catatonic state.

Must be we have that kind of fish and frogs. Never see any big fish, only very small ones. Maybe they get big enough to lay eggs in the mud in the fall that hatch in the spring?

 

[Wehner Homestead]

@Bruce you are SOOO funny!

 

[CntryBoy777]

Must be we have that kind of fish and frogs. Never see any big fish, only very small ones. Maybe they get big enough to lay eggs in the mud in the fall that hatch in the spring?

Ya gotta remember though, fish will only grow to the size of their environment....if the water is overcrowded then they won't grow and remain small. The amount of water does dictate the amount of fish that can be supported, but is not the only factor....in a large body of water 90% of the fish are only in 10% of the water.....

 

[Latestarter]

See, now that's why I was saying you should start fishing in your overfilled pond! You only need to fish in the 10% of it that the 90% are using!